Beleaguered by road-heavy schedule, Bucks aim to close trip on right note in Miami

MIAMI - It was Saturday morning and the Milwaukee Bucks were holding their usual shootaround ahead of that night's game against the Charlotte Hornets. That night, they would play the game then hop on a plane to fly down to San Antonio for another game Sunday.

Brook Lopez and the Bucks play yet another road game Friday, this one against the Heat in Miami. It will be the Bucks' 18th road game in their past 26 contests.(Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA TODAY Sports)

That's all Brook Lopez thought it was, a quick turnaround for a one-game trip. Surely, less than a week removed from returning from a five-game trip including four games out West the Bucks couldn't be gone long.

Just to be sure, Lopez sought confirmation that this, indeed, was to be a one-game trip. That's when he found out he was wrong. The Bucks would be gone the whole week, going to San Antonio, New Orleans and finishing up at 7 p.m. Friday against the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.

"Already?!" Lopez lamented. "It’s been non-stop.”

Indeed it has been. Since a six-game holiday homestand spanning the last week of December and the first week of January, the Bucks will have played 30 games once Friday's contest is in the books. Of those 30 games, 21 have been on the road.

If you want to break it down further, Friday's game will be their 18th road game in the Bucks' past 26 contests and their eighth in the past 10.

“Sheesh, I didn’t realize it was like that," Lopez said when faced with the numbers. “There are definitely moments where you wake up and you have no idea where you are. I wake up and I’m trying to remember, like, am I in Fresno, am I in Milwaukee? You just don’t know."

While the Bucks take charter flights and have world-class support staff along with them every step of the way, the rigors of travel can take a toll. Waiting for their plane to get de-iced -- something every Milwaukeean knows well -- added 90 minutes to their flight to San Antonio. Changing time zones, getting out of rhythm with your sleep schedule and being away from the comforts of home and family are obstacles for business travelers and NBA players alike.

Naturally, that's sure to affect them on the court at times, something Bucks all-star Khris Middleton noticed during the team's lackluster start to Tuesday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

"You could see the road trip starting to catch up," Middleton said after the team's third game in as many cities over four days. "The road trip has been catching up on us a little bit, but guys are fighting.”

All that said, though, the Bucks have been fantastic on the road this season. In the midst of this road-heavy schedule, Milwaukee amassed 10 straight wins in hostile environments and has gone 15-5 in the 20 road games heading into Friday. At 24-12 away from Fiserv Forum, the Bucks own the most road wins this season and are tied with the Golden State Warriors for the best road winning percentage (.667) in the NBA.

This year's team could rank as one of the best road teams in franchise history. The championship-winning Bucks of 1970-'71 own the organization's best mark at 28-13 on the road, a record that remains in reach for this season's team with five road games to go.

Part of Milwaukee's success this season has come from remaining focused and sharp regardless of venue. It has also helped that this team consists of a group of players who get along off the court since being away from home means seeing a lot more of each other.

“If you’re on a team where things are the other way around it can definitely be a chore," said Lopez, an 11-year veteran in his first season with the Bucks. “It’s been such a delight and such a pleasure to be hanging out with all these guys this whole season. It’s been so much fun.”

Coming off the three games in four days, the Bucks had an off-day on Wednesday before hitting the practice court again for a session Thursday afternoon in Miami. The day off was beneficial considering the difficult stretch the Bucks are in combined with the fact that they're about to take on the Heat -- a team that has given them trouble over the past few years and currently projects to be the Bucks' first-round opponent in the playoffs.

As much as two days between games can be a positive, Bucks all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo would rather just keep the contests rolling.

"I think sometimes when you get two days in between and the third day’s the game day you kind of tend to relax and get out of rhythm," Antetokounmpo said. "Previously we haven’t relaxed, we haven’t gotten out of rhythm so hopefully we can go out there and everybody has more energy and have a little bit – how you guys say – pep in the step. ...

“This definitely is a team that we might face in the first round of the playoffs, so we’ve definitely got to be locked in and go out there and play the best basketball we can play and send a message.”